In a landmark moment in the history of the City of Beverly Hills, the sale of most tobacco products in the City will be prohibited, effective Friday, January 1st.
In June of 2019, the Beverly Hills City Council unanimously approved an ordinance to prohibit the sale of tobacco products in the City, the first City Council to do so in the nation. The decision followed public input and recommendations from the City’s Health and Safety Commission.
“This week begins an important new chapter in our ongoing effort to promote and protect public health,” said Mayor Lester Friedman. “It was over 30 years ago that Beverly Hills became the first City in California to prohibit smoking inside restaurants. Since then, we have continued to implement policies that will ultimately save lives. Thank you to all who worked to bring us to this extraordinary day.”
The key provisions of the Ordinance include:
- Effective January 1, 2021, hotels, existing and future, may only sell to guests;
• Effective January 1, 2021, all other businesses shall stop selling tobacco products;
• An exemption/carve out for existing cigar lounges;
• A limited temporary hardship exemption provision for retailers that demonstrate the ban would cause undue hardship; and
• City Council review of the impacts in three years.
Restricting the sale of tobacco products, which includes smokeless tobacco and e-cigarettes, differs from restricting smoking activity in the City. For more information, including resources on smoking cessation programs, please visit www.beverlyhills.org/smoking.